Intel: Now Largest Purchaser of Green Power in U.S.

Intel is announcing today that it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of "renewable energy certificates" (which is 46% of their total electricity usage). That will make it the largest buyer of green power in the United States and give a boost to clean energy production, leading to increased generation capacity and eventually lower costs for everyone. It will also indirectly make your computer greener if you buy Intel, and it will pressure competitors to follow suit.The purchase placed Intel at the top of EPA's latest Green Power Partners Top 25 list, and also at the No. 1 spot on EPA's Fortune 500 Green Power Partners list. You can see the rest of the EPA list here. Surprisingly (to some), #2 and #3 are PepsiCo and the U.S. Air Force.

The energy source selected by Intel is Sterling Planet and they are using Biomass, Geothermal, Solar and Wind. It is not quite clear yet what the ratios are for each, but we'll try to find out.